Deflategate is back in the news this week, and one of the controversy’s most important figures is calling for it to end.
The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will meet Sunday night for the first time since last season’s AFC Championship Game, which sparked the seemingly never-ending saga over football air pressure. Now Jeffrey Kessler — the attorney who represented Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association in legal proceedings — is calling on the NFL to give up the fight after the league appealed U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman’s ruling to vacate Brady’s four-game suspension.
“Robert Kraft decided not to pursue his appeal of the team penalties (two lost draft picks, including a 2016 first-rounder, and a $1 million fine) for what he thought was the good of the game, and the commissioner could match what Mr. Kraft did,” Kessler told ESPN.com. “I think it’s a move that would be welcomed by most people in football.
“I think that the fans are tired of these types of issues,” Kessler said, “and that it would certainly be better for the NFL and all of its constituencies if the league could move on. … The intense focus on the litigation has now subsided; people are focusing on football, and it’s only good for the game if that continues.”
ESPN.com didn’t get much of a reaction from the league other than referring to Goodell’s comments at a recent NFL owners meeting.
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Tom (Brady.) … But our rules apply to everybody,” Goodell told reporters when asked why the NFL continues to fight the case.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
